There are few styles of beer more flavorful than Imperial Stout. Our thick, rich version was brewed with plenty of caramel and roasted malts and subtly spiced with Nugget and Cascade hops. We’ve accentuated the natural smokiness of the brew by adding a small amount of beechwood-smoked malt. At 22 degrees starting gravity and 8.0% alcohol by volume, this beer boasts flavors of chocolate and coffee, along with raisins and dried fruit soaked in sherry.

Dense rocky mountain of a head, soot black color; can't get much darker than this beer. Hint of molasses taffy, higher alcohols, ripe blackberries and a kiss of smoke make for a varied and semi-complex nose. Bittersweet chocolate, blackberries, ripe figs and a mild chicory flavor show the bold side of this brew. Light smoke and hops jump to add to that. Some char and herb middle to end. Bitter roasted flavors take over the finish yet never go astringent.

Great to experience an Impy Stout that thinks outside of the mash tun. The extra smoke component without the beer being big, bad and syrupy-sweet works very well. A sipper that begs to be paired with stinky blue cheese. Try it, you'll like it.

More User Reviews:

Appearance - This poured a dark, dark brown with a nice, brownish-white head that came up beautifully and showed great retention.

Smell - The aroma here was kind of flat even after the beer warmed. There's a nice, chocolaty malt base here with some light coffee notes but everything is muted and doesn't really open up like I was hoping.

Taste - The roasted malts have a nice, crisp, sugary flavor to them but again they are muted and aren't really opening up. Also, untrue to the style, I'm not finding that structured hop base.

Mouthfeel - This is bigger than medium-bodied but not quite full. There is some mild but pleasant carbonation and a reserved bitterness that kept things interesting.

1 liter waxed swing-top -bottle (a bit of a pain!) dated 2005. Pours a dark brown with a very thin light brown head (even after a vigorous pour), that quickly dissipates to a tin collar that leaves a bit of lacing.

The aroma is sweet earthy lactic chocolate, toffee, some bitterness, coffee, and a touch of astringent alcohol. Anise and smoke come out as it warms.

The flavor is sweet malty chocolate leading to a slightly burnt bitterness. Some smokiness and lots of anise comes out as it warms. The mouthfeel is medium to full and a little watery.

Overall a nice imperial stout. I was kind of surprised since I haven't been too impressed with their other beers. It starts off very sweet and chocolaty when colder. As it warms it more anise and bitterness come out.

Black with a tan head and decent retention. Roasty aromas, as well as licorice, tar, and also a fair amount of earthy hops. Taste was roasty, with almonds, caramel, dark chocolate, and a touch of smoke. Body was medium and so was the carbonation. I'd drink this again if it were available to me. Thanks to pepsican for the sample.

The beer pours black with a brown head. The aroma is meaty smoke with some chocolate and roasted malt. The flavor is very similar with roasted and burnt malts, chocolate and some smoke. The smoke is more present in the aroma than in the flavor. Medium-thick mouthfeel and low carbonation.

The beer came on tap in a pint glass, exhibiting a low, tan head and a black body. Smelled of sweet malts and chocolate. In addition to the chocolatey-coffee taste, there was a malty smokiness as well which lingered on the tongue, along with a slight earthiness.

Black Cauldron opens to a dark, fruity aroma, the initial notes being almost exclusively dark fruit esters, including fig, date, raisin, prune, plum, and black cherry. These mix with touches of milk chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla, and whipping cream to form a dessert-sweet overtone, held in check by a light counter of ash, tobacco, and chocolate malt. Thick brown breads, yeasty rising whole wheat dough, and toast crust form an earthy base. As a whole, the sugars in here are very nice, and complex enough to be quite interesting. For an Imperial Stout, however, the dark, ashy notes are extremely light, and this beer could pass for a darkly-fruited Barleywine. The 8% ABV does add a bit of bourbon overtone, though this is not the barrel-aged version of this beer, which helps add hints of smoke and char. What comes across most, however, is a series of dark fruit esters that seem more likely to be found in a young port, or an extremely fruity cognac.

On the tongue, the beer turns out to have a darker, more ashy base than the nose let on, which comes as a relief. The strong dark fruit esters – fig, date, prune, plum, raisin, and black cherry – are still very large and would not be surprising in a young port, but there are pleasant bits of tobacco, ash, and coffee that bring a nice balance. Milk chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream blend well with the fruits and ashy bits, and the beer rests on a base of thick brown bread, yeasty rising whole wheat dough, and burnt toast crust. In the latter half of the mouthful the ashy, tobacco-laden notes become stronger as the sugars die off, until the aftertaste is pleasantly dominated by ash, with just enough heavy cream, vanilla, and brown sugar left to please. Mouthfeel is a smooth medium, and carbonation is medium-light.

Overall, while the nose elicited somewhat nervous responses with its emphasis on sugars, the beer turned out to be very nice on the tongue, with an excellent sugar-ash combo that nicely suits the style. There’s still perhaps a slightly-too-large sugary base here, and the beer could have used a bit more char in the first half of the mouthful, but the result as-is proves dangerously drinkable.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice. Bottled on 10/23/2012.

Appearance: Pours a dark oily black with a moderate amount of bubbles. About two fingers of deep tan head that fade into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a good amount of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A very rich and robust dark stout aroma. Dark roasted malts with big hints of dark chocolate, coffee, dark toasted bread, biscuit, caramel, toffee, and cream. Good hints of smoked malt. Big presence of sweet molasses and some anise spicing. Good hints of dark cherry, raisin, fig, and plum. Also some solid hints of earthy and herbal hops coming out from the background. A really nice full imperial stout aroma.

Taste: As rich, roasty, and complex as the aroma hints at. Big taste of dark roasted malts with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, burnt caramel, toffee, burnt toast, biscuit, and a little milk cream. A nice taste of smoked malts are tasted along with a big taste of molasses sweetness and some licorice anise spice. Strong dark fruit undertones with notes of raisins, dark cherry, fig, prune, and plum. A decent backing of herbal and earthy malts round things out. A very good full on stout taste.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Rich, creamy, and somewhat slick. Fairly sweet and has a drying finish. Alcohol is hidden pretty well.

Overall: A great imperial stout. Very rich and complex with some nice fruit and hop notes under all the dark malts.

Aroma: rich and complex with a solid base of dark malts and hints of oak, whisky, charred wood and dark fruits,

Flavor: rich and complex with plenty of dark malts and hints of oak,dark chocolate; black coffee, whisky, smoke, vanilla, raisins and other dark fruits, While very good, the flavor doesn't live up to the promise of the excellent aroma.